Reliance (Censored)
by Kakashifan727
Summary: Female!Fiend, TDE Based. "How does one kill a God?" I ask, staring at ancient being before me. His eyes narrow, a smirk on his face. "You are asking me? Why should I even consider answering you?" "Because..." I start, bowing low to show respect, "...Only a demon can kill a demon." He frowns, yellow eyes scrutinizing me. "You ask for an alliance?" "Yes." I nod. It was the only way.


**A/N: I want to walk a fine line between purple prose, scenery porn and emulating the LoK series Shakespearean feel. Please tell me if I am doing it correctly. Also using this to try and understand the LoK series' plot. Plus tie in the SMT's series elements/theme of choice with the LoK themes of destiny, free will, etc. Added some changes to TDE Fiend's design; felt it was too human for someone who had all but discarded their humanity to rule over all demons. If I could draw I'd post it, but I'm no good. I may try though. **

… … **...**

The horizon is painted a deep crimson, its vermillion hues melting into the desolate landscape. Here there is nothing, only battle and death. The sky is filled with red energy, its life giving power swelling and pulsating. Magatushi...the crux of demonic life and the reason for our existence. Here I am the Ruler of all demons, my absolute and ultimate power demanding obedience and respect. The only enemy is one's own weakness. To combat it, one must grow strong and understand your place in the world. Yet if one is strong enough, they can overthrow those who harm them, and take their place as ruler. I am the prophesied one. The Demi-Fiend, bringer of 'order' to this land of strife and misfortune. I have chosen this path of my own free will. I do not resent my decision nor the things I have done to get here. The strong respect me and the weak seek my protection. In the civilized parts of this world I am seen as a 'King' or even a father figure. None of my subjects would even think of turning against me. Those that dare are met with a swift and painful death.

The only thing that dares to oppose me is God Himself. Winged creatures scour the sky, angels and their ilk, servants of the One. They believe they have won this war. They are wrong. We are still fighting and will never relent. Our freedom is too valuable to give up so easily. Even now, I watch my people below as they futilely try to fight. It is one sided and ends quickly. The demons are decimated; their corpses litter the once clean ground and their screams echo across this barren wasteland. I feel nothing, yet clench my fist until my own blood pours down my arm. I stare at it, the black blood contrasting with the pale skin and green markings. My fingers are thin, yet the nails are sharper than razors and have torn through flesh and bone alike. I can feel the power in them, raw and controlled, my body like a coiled spring, ready to act upon my will. I am no longer truly human, despite my appearance; my soul is that of a monster, a ruthless killer and traitor who stops at nothing to achieve total domination.

Sometimes however, when I hear the painful screams and watch my comrades' life blood spill onto the earth...I feel an inner pain that permeates my being. A dull, throbbing ache that slowly ceases. I watch as those murderers circle in the sky above me and my hatred intensifies. It is so easy. With an outstretched hand I command the wind to tear into their wings, grinning as they screech in agony. The fools are sent tumbling to the earth, where demons already begin to converge. Their demise is swift and succinct. A smile spreads across my face as I hear the delightful sounds of a feast. Let that teach these 'holy' fiends to invade my realm. What pretenders; how dare they champion themselves as righteous and the true bringers of peace to this place! My smile slowly becomes a scowl; more of the vermin are scouting the skies. Peering into the bleak distance, I notice that the angels are advancing. They are not doing so uncontested, yet our own scouts seem to be woefully inadequate. What are they doing? How have the angels gotten so far into our territory?

I focus power into my body, the Magatama flowing through me accentuating the process. Searing pain erupts across my shoulder blades, like two swords digging into my body. I feel the change instantaneously. It is foreign and yet familiar...the two leathery appendages expanding and stretching across my body. Their total span is about four feet across, and yet they weight little. Or at least it feels like nothing; my body has gotten much more accustomed to these wings. The annoying things have torn through my jacket and shirt, even the chain mail I wear underneath. Modesty is a trivial thing; it has no place here in this realm of lies and deceit. Still, it does feel odd that there is nothing covering my bare chest. Human conditioning, I suppose, has indoctrinated me to idiotic double standards. How annoying; I feel like a dog. Even though the clothes are more aesthetic than for protection, I hate it when this happens. I do have some semblance of self-respect and image to maintain. Sometimes I wish I was not the Ruler, then I would not have to conform to this insanity. Demons are not humans; their laws and culture do not apply to us, yet we still use them as guidelines for this new society. Or is it the other way around? I know not, yet this intrigues me. Maybe one of my advisers at my keep would know better, they being older and wiser than I. I am only a human turned into a demon after all, barely two decades of age. I know nothing compared to the old gods and demigods of yore. No matter, I have more pressing matters to attend to right now.

Testing out my wings, the large appendages flap as I twitch my should blades. It takes only a few seconds before I am aloft in the air, the small currents of wind aiding my ascent. _This is more taxing than I remember. _Every flap causes short spasms of pain to erupt across my shoulders. I always wanted to be able to fly. Ever since I was a child. The caress of the wind across my body is exhilarating. The freedom. No human could ever understand... They are too weak, too pathetic, too afraid of the unknown. They had their chances, yet never dared to venture beyond their tiny cages. Never dared to explore the true limits of their potential, the true nature of their souls. They were always afraid of being judged, misinterpreted or misunderstood. Few dared to step outside the boundaries of their societal roles, or challenge the status quo. Only someone like me, who has transcended beyond the pitiful boundaries of the human soul, could understand the true meaning of freedom.

From my altitude, the skirmishing forces below me are just a quivering mass. The angels have advanced more than we estimated. On both land and air, they seem to be steadily making their move forward. None would dare attack me, and I can easily circumvent their scouts. I do manage to take out a few of them, taxing some of my magical energy. I feel tired from doing so, but this mostly because I have not used my full power in quite a while. There is no need for me to fly out onto the battlefield myself. Yet I do so anyway. Keeping up good relations with one's troops is an essential warfare tactic. Many of the demons are outmatched, though these are just fodder to tire our foes. Their cries and shouts echo in the currents, my ears straining to hear them. Every noise sends a tingle through my body. The smell of blood reaches me, even this high in the heavens. How I wish to be among them! To tear and rend the flesh of those fools who would dare oppose me! To hear their screams and taste the flesh of my enemies would be so much more rewarding. More rewarding than playing this game, this game of winners and losers and futility.

I have been doing it for far too long, about five years since the day I bested Lucifer. I subdued him and took his place as the 'King' of all demons, and am now the General of the army to fight against this vengeful 'God'. I have commanded them ever since, more of my time being spent in meetings and conferences than actually fighting on the front lines. If I was 'allowed' to fight on my own, I would do so without hesitation. I'd rather not risk anything for such a pointless urge. No more lives should be lost in this war for true freedom. I would not be able to handle the consequences if my foolish, spur of the moment actions caused us to lose this war. It would surely break me, hardened as I am. Seems I cannot eschew all of my humanity, no matter how hard I try to lose myself in this chaos.

I sigh, both my body and wings beginning to become fatigued. Spotting a flag bearing my insignia is easy with my new eye, and I touch down beside it. Focusing my magical energy on the Magatama inside me, I grunt as my wings retract into my body, the leather folding back in on themselves and shrinking before they disappear completely. If only I could do the same for my outfit... Many of the troops around me are quite shocked at my sudden appearance. I don't come here too often, having other things to attend to in my kingdom. I do have subjects to look after; the smaller, weaker demons who are used to feed others or eventually serve as replacement troops when numbers are low. The demons shuffle out of my way as I stride past them, and I notice heads peeking out of tent flaps and staring at me from the distance. I am not bothered by them. Let them stare and view me in my glory. It isn't difficult to navigate through the camp and find the commander's tent. It is the largest one and is bearing a smaller version of my army's symbol. The person looks genuinely surprised as I enter the small space, the red light from the outside contrasting from the pale magical light cast inside the tent. They seemed to be going over a map of our territory, though now their attention is focused solely on me. A frown appears on my face as I calmly walk over to the table, glancing at the map as I do so. It seems the angels have begun occupying small villages and territory.

"They've already begun to advance this far..." I comment, the figure next to me nodding as I look up from the parchment.

"Indeed. It seems these angels are more powerful than we gave them credit for," they respond, their features now composed as they watch me. I run my fingers through my hair, its black length swaying under my touch. I hate to admit it, but I'm still not that great at commanding a huge army. Individuals, yes. Thousands of independent soldiers who could mutiny at the drop of a hat because of something superfluous, no. I am not too confident in my abilities. Five years isn't that long, and I feel someone else could be commanding these troops. I may be the most powerful, but I feel that amounts to little considering the situation we are in. Our forces are weakened, the angels are converging on our cities, people could be compromised...it is too much. I feel tired, mentally exhausted. I need to release some of this stress. Violence isn't the answer though, no matter how much I want to smash this damned table to pieces. I glance at my lieutenant, her dark violet eyes widening as she realizes I am staring at her. Her purple hair is almost as long as mine, yet obscured by the helmet she is wearing. Her mouth is covered by shadows as well, so I can't tell what her face is saying. Is she worried? Excited? Concerned? Knowing the feelings and emotions of one's comrade's is important to judging the situation and planning ahead. As any decent leader should know. I am at least that much.

"Yes, my Lady? I know the situation is troubling, but we can't give up hope so easily. There must be a way to prevail against these stubborn perpetrators of false justice!" She says, causing heat to fill through my body. My petite lieutenant is so loyal and trusting, ever since I was able to convince her to join my side. Yet it was partly because of her commands that we have lost so much ground. I should punish her; I haven't done that with her in a long time. Besides, I've been growing tired of men lately and this small display should convince any of the troops what would happen to them if they tried to desert or double cross me. I know she'll like it too, though she's too prideful to admit it. Valkyries tend to be stubborn that way, and this one more than most. I grin as I walk behind her and wrap my arms around her, squeezing her tough midsection. Even under her chain mail I can feel her tight abdomen as I rub my fingers along her body.

"Hrist...your incompetence has cost me dearly," I purr, my eyes narrowing as I take my hands off her midriff and hang them around her neck. The usually stoic Valkyrie pales a bit, her eyes widening as she comprehends my words. I chuckle, a deep noise that erupts from my throat.

"You need to be punished and taught a lesson," I continue, bringing my mouth up her ear so I can nibble at it. I bite it firmly yet gently, not wanting to leave any marks or make it bleed. It wouldn't do to harm one of my favored companions, now would it? I use my tongue to stroke her inner ear, feeling warmth flow through my body as she shudders. _Good...Never forget that you are mine. _

"Heh, I was wondering when you'd start something. You must have missed me, hmm?" Hrist comments, the two of us laughing. I miss the old days when we would exchange banter like this; ruling a nation is far too depressing and diplomatic for my taste. Maybe I should have thought about what it meant before taking Lucifer up on his offer...

"I didn't come here just for something as trivial as sex. However, since I'm in the mood and you're willing..." I tease, my mouth touching up against her ear. She shudders, and I can even feel her face heating up as my tongue once again slides along the side of her ear. I use one hand to gently take her purple helmet off and set it on the table. Running my hand along her majestic violet tresses, I lean my body against her and savor the warmth. Her body smells like sweat mixed with perfume, not the best scent but still very arousing. How I wish we could go out and have adventures again; I could maybe get some of my advisers in on it too. We would be unstoppable and even possibly find something exciting in this place, something that was not yet discovered. Those are dreams for another time, I'm afraid, after we have cleaned out the agents of the enemy and finally ended this war.

"Hahaha...What are you planning?" Hrist asks, her defenses already starting to kick in. I chuckle, noting her glare and narrowed eyebrows as she attempts to escape my hold. Always the cold and indifferent one, eh? I know you better than that... I lean my head against her neck, sighing as I do so. Humans are such bigoted creatures, I hate their close-mindedness. I would have been chastised for doing something such as this, displaying my affections so openly, and to another woman. They would have called me names, labeled me as a freak or sexual deviant. What is so wrong about this? Nothing; only prudes and those who are scared of their own true nature would condemn it. What pitiable fools...Another reason I did not wish for the recreation of the old world; too many people poking into another's business. It is not as if I focus on women exclusively, and it does not make me a 'whore' or an indecisive person because I choose to love more for personality than looks or gender.

"I thought I told you, my dear..." I start, focusing some magical energy in my body into my hand. The green tattoos on it glow briefly, and I plunge it into the air around me. The magic causes it to create an extra-dimensional space around us, a small hole that has ruptured the fabric of the space time continuum. I feel pain flash across my body, an acute sensation of ache and searing like that of a hot knife. Doing this magic is tricky and somewhat dangerous; I wish to improve my skills, however, and the damage to my body wouldn't be fatal. I am confident in my ability. Using space-time magic for this was probably reckless, I admit, but it is too late now. I might as well act now that I have the portal set up. I only wish I could be more proficient in this as I am with elemental spells. The Magatama sadly have no new skills to teach me, since I have mastered them all, and most of the arts I could learn from my enemies or friends are things I know already. I want more power...I don't have enough strength to protect everyone, even after all I have been through. I stare at the portal, examining it now that it has finished manifesting in our realm. The hole is tiny, about a few inches in diameter, but I am able to rip it open using the same hand if I focus enough. The room inside is darkly lit by magical light and thankfully where I hoped the portal would spawn to.

"...You are going to be punished," I grin, taking the fully-able Hrist by the waist and dragging her into the space-time distortion.

… … …

My breathing is hard and heavy, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. That was good, very good considering the circumstances I find myself in. I need to train my body better; I thought I could withstand that kind of punishment. Am I getting weaker from sitting on the sidelines? Usually doing this kind of thing would not exhaust me, yet I can feel the blood rushing into the back of my throat, coating my mouth and dripping down the side of my face. My body is covered in wounds that will not close, small purple and black bruises or gashes that run across my figure. They don't hurt much and are more of a minor inconvenience than anything else. I can feel the heat and slick sweat of my partner below me. She is staring at me intensely, her eyes burning with an inner fire despite the things she had to go through. What tenacity! That steadfast determination, headstrong will...that is what I love about her. So few could claim allegiance to someone like me, a child playing at being a 'King', yet Hrist hardly doubts me or my intentions. I run my hands through her tangled and bloody locks, their stark redness contrasting with the deep purple that shines despite its foulness.

Rising from the bed proves difficult; more mentally than physically. I do not wish to leave these comforts, yet I must as soon as my body fixes itself. Already I can feel the smaller cuts repairing themselves, the flesh and sinew binding and mending together as the magic takes effect. Torn ligaments and tendons righting themselves with ease, bones snapping together in places as skin stitches and weaves. All physical evidence of the encounter erased. I quickly scramble out of bloody sheets, the cold air feeling good to my warm body. I will have to wash them later. Finding my clothes is a simple matter, the black leather pants and accompanying undergarments draped across a chair, I find a new shirt and jacket, thematically the same as before and wear them. I am breathing heavily, sweat dripping down my face and even my hair.

"You can't stay?" Hrist asks, and I turn my head to offer a shake of dissent. She is still lying in the bed, her face flushed and body covered in similar wounds as I had been. I feel a pang of guilt, watching her move slowly from the sheets. She cannot recover from injuries as fast I can, thanks to my Magatama. I walk over and put my hand on her shoulder, her face wincing as my fingers press into a bruise. Muttering an apology, it is easy enough for me to try and use magic to heal some of her wounds. I focus mainly on the cuts, the bleeding and possible infections are more prominent than any pain she might be feeling. Though being a demon like me, except one of a different order might make it harder for her to contract anything too serious or life-threatening. I'd much rather not take any chances if I can. My hand falls limply from her naked body, and I quickly turn away. I have things I need to do.

"I see...I shall continue to lead the troops according to your orders. I will go back in time," She responds, and I nod my assent, walking further from her and the gorgeous, yet bloodied bed.

"I must search for allies to win this war. They cannot be simple demons; we need something strong enough and powerful enough to help us turn the tide of this war. Sadly, this realm has nothing of worth. I shall go to others and see if I can find anything suitable there. I wish you good fortune," I say, focusing my magic once again into my hand.

This portal is different; bigger and more powerful than the last. I would wait until I have recovered more fully before I go, yet we are pressed for time. Every moment, every second I waste here could mean the defeat of our troops and the destruction of this realm. I wish to prevent that, no matter what. I steel myself, looking into the bleak depths of the opaque hole. I see nothing. Is this an omen, a sign of our doom? Can't be. I'm probably going mad. Yes, that must be it. I step through the vortex, leaving my world and companions behind. Hopefully I shall find something worthwhile here. I pray that it will go well.


End file.
